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Local News for Wednesday 25th May 2016

Former estate owner to sueIt’s been reported that the former owner of the Pairc Estate in Lewis is to sue the new owners, Pairc Trust, for £700,000. Barry Lomas says he’s owed the money for legal costs incurred during the sale, and compensation. Mr Lomas received £500,000 purchase price after protracted legal wrangling and interventions under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act of 2003. Funding support came from the Scottish Land Fund, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, and the local Muaitheabhal Community Wind Farm Trust, in addition to almost £300,000 raised by the Pairc Trust themselves. Trust representatives said this week that they did not believe Mr Lomas was entitled to any payments, but that they expected he would pursue his claim.

Local News for Wednesday 18th May 2016

Skye fatality – witnesses soughtPolice are asking for public help after a 24-year-old woman died in a road traffic collision on the Isle of Skye. The accident happened at about 10.10am on the morning of Friday 13th May, on the A87 just north of Broadford. Sadly, the woman died at the scene. At the family’s request, her identity will not be released by Police Scotland. Police are appealing to anyone who saw the vehicle, a red Ford Fiesta, in the area around 10am on Friday to make contact via 101 if they haven’t already done so.

Local News for Thursday 19th May 2016

Louisa raised for investigationThe wreck of the Stornoway fishing vessel Louisa has reached Glasgow after being raised from the position where she sank, near the island of Mingulay, with the loss of three lives. Crew members Martin Johnstone and Chris Morrison drowned in the incident, while skipper Paul Alliston is still missing. One crew member survived. Marine Accident Investigators issued pictures of the Louisa after she was lifted from the seabed on Sunday. The sinking is the subject of a joint investigation between the Marine Accident Investigation Board and Police Scotland. An MAIB spokesman said: "Our investigation aims to establish why the Louisa sank and why lives were lost. A full and detailed report will be published at the end of our investigation”.

Local News for Friday 20th May 2016

CalMac wins the contractCalMac ferries will continue to serve all the routes around the Western Isles, with the announcement yesterday that they were winners of the £900 million contract to serve the Clyde and Hebrides ferry routes for the next eight years. The Scottish Government contract was awarded against a bid from private operators Serco, whose bid was judged ‘non-compliant’ with the requirements of the contract. Immediately after the announcement CalMac managing director Martin Dorchester said: “This announcement means that going forward we are the operator of choice for two contracts - the operations contract for Transport Scotland and the harbours contract for CMAL. We will now enter a stand-still period of 10 days before the contract is formally signed. We are still covered by a confidentiality agreement with Transport Scotland. This means that we cannot provide any detailed information.However, as soon as this legal period has passed we will be able to share more details. Isles MP Angus MacNeil welcomed the announcement, saying that the news was a relief for ferry workers after the Scottish Government had been obligated to open the process to competitive bids due to EU regulations. He said: “Many of CalMac’s crews had told me of their nervousness about this process and what it could have meant for their jobs or terms and conditions. Now CalMac must continue to serve the islands and improve services where possible”. The unsuccessful company, Serco, who are allowed to appeal the decision on the contract during the 10–day standstill period, said the competitive bid process was good for the contract, although they had rated their own chances of success as low.

Local News for Tuesday 24th May 2016

Councillor’s ‘Lucky to be Here’ presentationA councillor who has first-hand experience of the value of life-saving equipment has presented Comhairle nan Eilean Siar with a heart-starting defibrillator. Cllr Angus Morrison suffered a heart attack in January 2014 and is now local co-ordinator for the charity Lucky2Bhere, which supplies defibrillators and trains people how to use them. Th charity was set up in Skye and now raises funds for the life-saving equipment in communities throughout the highlands and islands. Cllr Morrison said: “After recovering from my own heart attack, I had a discussion with paramedic Roddy MacDonald and we decided to contact Lucky2Bhere." The local team of Lucky2BHere Eilean Siar has now been set up, led by Roddy MacDonald and Councillor Morrison, and the team have supplied defibrillators and training in Leverburgh, Tarbert, North Tolsta, Grimshader and now at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar offices in Stornoway. Over the coming months training courses will take place in various locations throughout the Western Isles. Lucky2BHere relies completely on fundraising and donations. For more information contact Angus Morrison on 07880 172971 or www.lucky2bhere.org